The Government is to set up a new State authority to oversee fire and emergency planning services, following a consultants' report which claims there are serious inadequacies in the Republic's current fire prevention and emergency response capacity.
The report by consultants Farrell Grant Sparks notes it is 25 years since the last review of the fire service and maintains "current arrangements were not designed to deal with today's circumstances". It recommends key changes in relation to the staffing and management of the fire service, which it says is "fragmented" and "in need of a major overhaul at this point".
Although the review was announced by Government in January 2001 in the context of the 20th anniversary of the Stardust disaster, the Farrell Grant Sparks report notes there is still "no statutory basis for major emergency planning in Ireland". It points out that the Republic has the second highest number of fire deaths per capita of 25 countries, including Poland, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, the United States and Britain. The only country of those surveyed which had a higher death rate from fires was Hungary.
The consultants' report recommends a switch in emphasis "from response to prevention" and says the local authority functions of building control and fire services should be brought together to deliver greater fire prevention measures. It says the running of the fire service by local authorities places a huge burden on staff to ensure that diverse standards are interpreted and met.
It also notes that in rural areas part-time fire officers' morale is low. Officers suffer from limited career opportunities, occupational hazards, the poor condition of some stations and declining numbers of volunteers.
The report recommends the introduction of "a competency-based approach to recruitment" as well as the removal of "barriers to promotion" inherent in the current fire services.
Although much of the report is critical of the services, the consultants also emphasise a number of positive aspects, including major improvements since the last review in 1975, particularly since the report of the Stardust tribunal in 1982.
It also acknowledges that Ireland has not had a record in recent years of major fire-related accidents and adds that there "is no compelling evidence of widespread unacceptable risk". The report also acknowledged the significant increases in funding over the past two to five years.
The authors express the hope that "it will be possible to highlight and deal with deficiencies in the current regime without causing unnecessary fear or panic in the public arena".
The report was welcomed by the Minister for the Environment, Mr Dempsey, who said its recommendations for change would be brought to Cabinet within two weeks and he was confident that interim measures would be made immediately, followed by legislation where necessary. In the five years up to and including 2002, more than €66 million had been provided in grants, more than had been provided in the previous 10 years, he said. However, he said it was clear much needed to be done and he pledged support for the measures recommended by the report.